Unbeknownst
by Maladin
Summary: ON HIATUS - When Zuko is offered the opportunity to be delivered of his sister's cruelty, will he accept or will guilt leave him in Azula's claws? Warning: implied deaths and actual deaths.
1. Chapter 1

**Avatar: the last airbender belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko and Nickelodeon.**

-

Long Feng, bitter yet not defeated by the events that led Azula to the place where he should sit enthroned, walked down the hall leading to the entrance. The Dai Li had sided with the princess, but he knew it was out of fear and that they had nothing against their leader. That was why he needed to dispose, permanently, of this irritating teenager. But he could not approach Ozai's Angels without attracting an unhealthy attention. He needed someone Azula would never imagine to act so definitively against her.

And here was the perfect person for his ploy, training in the courtyard.

"Prince Zuko, I presume?" He said, interrupting the firebender's moves.

"Hopefully." He replied simply.

"Oh, yes. I suppose your sister promised you to lift your banishment?"

Zuko nodded. "But who are you to know so much about me?" He asked suspiciously.

"I am Long Feng. I helped your sister to get in power."

"You... are a traitor to your own nation?"

"I will probably be considered such, although I did so for the greater good." Long Feng was always amazed by the power of a simple lie. "Ba Sing Se will fall with no bloodshed, saving numerous lives, especially in the Lower Ring." In a way, he was right. He doubted the Fire Nation would bother to do anything against what they considered to be helpless and inoffensive refugees.

As deceiving as they might be, these words touched Zuko. "I see. Pleased to meet you, Long Feng." If he was to regain his home's respect, getting used again to court manners would not hurt, no matter how foreign they felt on his tongue after three years of banishment.

Long Feng bowed. "The pleasure is shared." He straightened his back before going on. "But I didn't come here for an introduction. I came to warn you."

Zuko raised an eyebrow, trying to hide his anxiety. "Yes?"

The braided man looked around as if to check if someone was listening, although he already knew they were alone in the courtyard. "You see, your sister doublecrossed me in spite of my help, which was quite valuable if I may say so." He noticed Zuko tense more visibly. "And I wouldn't be surprised if she betrayed you too. I believe your father is not the understanding and forgiving type."

Zuko suppressed his agitation with difficulty. "You think so? But she promised..." Then he remembered. _'Azula always lies.'_ How could he have forgotten?

"Most certainly. But don't worry..." Long Feng's became a whisper. "I can, and will, help you to eliminate this threat..."

The prince could not help feeling a chill down his spine at Long Feng's words and tone. But he managed to hide this before speaking. "And how would you manage that? Azula has always been what I was not..." The teen looked down. "Smart, powerful, lucky..." His voice trailed off.

_'And impossible to manipulate.'_ Long Feng mused. "I wouldn't say she trusts you, but she underestimates you." He took a hidden flask out of his sleeve. "Therefore you'll be able to slip this in her drink."

Zuko bore a horrified expression. "You want me... to poison my own sister?" He shook his head. "I can't!" 

"Do you want her to kill you first?" Long Feng retorted icily. "Do you want lose everything you struggled for during your bannishment?"

Repeating those words in his mind, Zuko stared at the deadly flask. "...I will do it" He said finally, taking the flask.

"You won't regret it..."

----

Azula was seated, proud and fierce, on one of the four chairs reserved for the conquerors of Ba Sing Se. She had chosen their places herself. Mai was at her right, the prospect of the celebration in their honour not interesting her at all. She preferred to have Zuko close to keep a watch over him, which was why he sat at her left, beside Ty Lee. That way, Azula was sure to decrease the temptation of a foolish escape. And if by some doubtful miracle he managed to knock both the acrobat and her, Mai and her blades were more effective from a distance than Ty Lee.

She had ordered the room to be rid of green and was pleased, though not surprised, to see that the Dai Li had obeyed. Save for the whispering nobles and councillors' clothes, the main colour of the Earth Kingdom had been replaced with brown, closest tone to red in the whole palace. It also allowed the many Dai Li agents to blend in the background, watching attentively all the guests.

"Noblemen of the Earth Kingdom." Azula announced suddenly, rising from her seat. "You probably wonder why you were summoned tonight." Nods and murmurs. "The reason is quite simple, really. Ba Sing Se, pride of the Earth Kingdom that not even the Dragon of the West could conquer, has firebenders within its walls. The king has fallen."

The princess was delighted by the appalled expressions of her audience. She glanced around her, Mai seemed less bored, Ty Lee was smiling and Zuko was gazing down at his goblet and poking his plate with a chopstick. She disliked the fact that her brother, though unimportant to her, did not consider her triumph worth watching.

"If so, why are we here in the dining room instead of the throne room?" A noble asked the person he thought to be replacing his king, standing up. "This is a most serious matter, they could be sabotaging our defences right now!"

"I have summoned you here for a specific reason. You see..." Surprising everyone in the room, she shot a small fireball at him and blew his ostentatious hat off. "Ba Sing Se now belongs to the Fire Nation, and you will celebrate this event."

"What!" The nobleman exclaimed as some of his peers gasped and others prepared to earthbend. "Who are you?"

"I introduce you to Mai, Ty Lee and the Fire Prince Zuko." Azula answered in a falsely polite voice, motioning at each of them when saying their names. She noticed Zuko's eyes widening at not being called a banished prince. "I'm the Fire Princess Azula, pleased to conquer you."

"I'm the head councillor and I'll make sure to punish you for your arrogance!" He growled. "Guards! Capture them." The councillor smiled as he saw the Dai Li agents near him react but his smile disappeared as he felt the grasp of their stone gauntlets around his limbs. "What are you doing! She's the firebender!" He shouted as the nobles about to earthbend were imprisoned as well.

"The Dai Li are now serving the Fire Nation." Azula said. "You can't blame them for serving the best." She was almost bored by the surprised looks of the men by now.

"You are dismissed, head councillor." She then sat down, watching the Dai Li bringing the earthbenders and the man out of the room. "Does someone have an objection?" All the nobles shook their heads. "Good." She smirked, her father had taught her that noblemen were easily tamed.

The dinner started, all the guests save for the Fire Nation quartet eating quite reluctantly. Thirsty because of her speech, Azula was the first of the four to help herself to the water, oblivious of Zuko's careful stare. She brought her stone goblet to her lips as her brother's attention intensified.

She drank a gulp of water and her throat immediately tightened while a searing pain appeared in her lungs. Azula let out a sharp gasp before falling down her chair. Mai's eyes widened as the princess collapsed on her side and Ty Lee was stunned, while Zuko bolted to take her in his arms.

"She died." He cried, not even needing to fake his sadness. Ty Lee sobbed behind him.

"Poison." Mai said, smelling the water inside the carafe. "I should have been more watchful..." She continued, stone-faced, though her eyes showed her sorrow. But she quickly hid it and glared at the audience, daring any of them to cheer. None did.

"I'm taking her to her room..." Zuko uttered, standing up and holding his little sister gently in his arms.

Ty Lee placed her hand on his shoulder. "I-I'm going w-with you..."

"No, stay here with Mai to make sure the guests don't do anything stupid." He looked over his shoulder and saw her miserable face and moist eyes. "Please..." He begged.

She nodded sadly. "If you wish..."

As Mai ordered the nearby Dai Li to start an investigation, Zuko disappeared into the corridors with his sister's body.

----

The night had been difficult. Ty Lee had shed a few more tears before nodding off and Mai had spent the night terrorizing all the nobles and the whole Dai Li with her adamant investigation to find any clue about Azula's killer. Zuko had barely slept at all and was pacing back and forth in the throne room, hoping that Mai would not direct her suspicion at him. He was tense just thinking of what she and Ty Lee would do if they ever found out who poisoned the water.

"Prince Zuko." Long Feng greeted as he walked in the room, followed by two of his agents. "On the evidence of last night's agitation, I presume you disposed of your traitorous sister."

Zuko sighed. "Yes." He gazed at Long Feng's followers. "But shouldn't you be more careful with the Dai Li around?"

A faint smile appeared on the older man's lips. "Without Azula to be afraid of, they promptly came back to me." A third agent, hidden behind the throne, started to walk on the wall. His elite earthbenders' discretion was something to be proud of.

"I didn't do that for a reward. I did it because it was the right thing to do..." Zuko replied, not entirely convinced. No matter how many times he told himself that, it still sounded wrong to his ears.

Long Feng's smile became more perceptible. "I know. Your sister will never harm anyone again." He glanced upwards, pleased to discover his agent hanging from the ceiling a few feet behind Zuko. "But I still think you deserve a reward."

A confused look appeared on his face, and soon gave way to a surprised expression as a stone glove struck hard on the nape of his neck. Long Feng turned his back to the collapsed firebender as the third agent earthbended his glove back to him before dropping on the ground.

"Bring him to Lake Laogai, he will be quite an interesting recruit." As the earthbenders obliged, he glanced at the throne. "The heirs of the Fire Nation fell to me, Ba Sing Se is now without ruler..." He smirked. "...and as a good servant of the Earth Kingdom, I will not leave it vacant." It was definitively an excellent day.

- 

**As this fanfiction revolves around surprises, plot twists and other cliffhangers, please do not spoil the events in your reviews.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Avatar: the last airbender belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko and Nickelodeon.**

-

"What do you mean Zuko is nowhere to be found?" Mai exclaimed as she rose from her seat and smacked the table she was behind. The Dai Li agent reporting to her repressed a shudder caused by her scolding frown.

"Y-yes..." He managed to stutter. "He went to his sister's room and didn't come back. We found not a trace of him or of Azula's body there when we came in..." Mai's glare seemed to chill both the room and him. "However..."

She decreased the distance between both of their faces, her eyes staring through his. "However, what?"

"W-we found ev-evidence of a fight in the room..."

"A fight?" She repeated, straightening her back. "And none of you heard any rampage? Do you know how loud Zuko can be while fighting?" She continued icily, earning a nervous swallow from the earthbender.

"The attacker was probably very stealthy... We suspect the Blue Spirit..." He hesitantly replied.

"Him? Here? And attacking our royalty?" Her eyes widened. "Could it be _he_ poisoned Azula?" She muttered to herself.

The agent heard her. "Maybe. Fire Nation royalty are appealing targets for outlaws." 

"Yes." She produced a knife from her right sleeve. "Now go away, I have things to do." He was quick to obey.

When the agent was gone, Mai subsided on her chair. "The Fire Lord is going to skin me alive and sear me when he learns that his favored child died..." She whispered as she rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to rub away the tiring effects of a sleepless night. A few seconds later, she narrowed her eyes and tightened the grip on her knife. "Blue Spirit... Whoever you are, wherever you are..." She stabbed harshly the table, the steel blade winning the battle of resistance against the stone. "I will get you."

-

Now out of range of any projectile Mai could throw at him, the agent stopped to lean against a pillar and catch his breath. "I hate... people of the Fire Nation..." He grumbled, not noticing a person stepping from behind the pillar closest to the room he ran from.

"Do not worry, we soon will be rid of them." Long Feng assured the earthbender.

Overcoming his surprise at finding his leader here, he replied. "I followed your orders." He got back up and took a quick look around them to check if Mai had followed him. "I made her believe Zuko was attacked by somebody exterior to the palace..."

"And you blamed it on the Blue Spirit." Long Feng smiled. "Excellent initiative. I will make so Azula's former room shows damages by blade."

He bowed. "Master." When he looked up, Long Feng was already gone, surely to speak with the agents assigned to the room.

----

Ty Lee fell down yet again. Ever since she woke up, she trained her acrobatics to get Azula's death off her mind, but it did not work at all. The only things she managed to was trip more in a hour than during all her life and realize that all her skill did not prevent Azula to die. She got back on her hands and restarted to move around when somebody knocked on her door.

"Ente-" Her sentence was completed by a crash as she fell again and ended up on her back.

The door opened to reveal Mai glancing inside. "Everything's alright, Ty Lee?" She asked, a raised eyebrow being the only sign of concern she showed.

"Yeah... I just fell while walking on my hands. Nothing serious..."

"The great acrobat Ty Lee, tripping over?" Mai mused. "Everything is going wrong..."

Sadness appeared on Ty Lee's face. "Yes. Azula di...di..." She could not say this word. "How is Zuko?" Ty Lee then asked, oblivious to the events that happened earlier.

Mai knew that Ty Lee was already distressed with only one misfortune, but she had to inform her. "Zuko... Zuko was defeated and taken away by someone, along with Azula's body." Ty Lee gasped before bolting up. "The Dai Li thinks the Blue Spirit did it. As well as poison Azula."

"What are we going to do?" She asked, her face bearing a mixture of surprise, distress and anger.

"Find the Blue Spirit." She clenched her fist and her resolute stare almost scared Ty Lee even though they knew each other for ages. "And make him regret ever being on the way of the Fire Nation."

"What if he's not the killer?" Ty Lee tried to reason her friend. "You said the Dai Li only thought he was..."

"If he is, we will avenge Azula, and Zuko if he got killed. And if he is not..." She smirked. "It will still be one less obstacle to the Fire Nation..."

Ty Lee considered this. "But that means we might have to leave Ba Sing Se. I don't trust those earthbenders to keep the city for us."

Mai sighed. "You know, without Azula to govern, the only useful thing we can do is track her murderer." She looked sideways. "My father might be a governor now, but he didn't teach me how to rule a city..."

"Fine. We'll go. Just give me enough time to pack up." Ty Lee declared, convinced.

"We'll depart after breakfast, food won't hurt us." She failed to suppress a yawn. "I don't need to sleep anyways." She walked back to the doorframe and leaned against it. As much as she hated it, her sleepless night seemed determined to make itself know at this time.

"You should!" Ty Lee cried when she noticed her friend's exhaustion.

"That's nothing... I can stay awa-" She could not finish her sentence as she slumped against the doorframe.

Ty Lee ran to her, lifted her and delicately laid the girl on her bed. "Sleep well, Mai. We might have more luck finding the Blue Spirit during night anyways..."

----

Zuko had already fallen unconscious in the past. Training and battles had made him familiar with the feeling. One second he was in a place and a time he knew and the next he opened his eyes on a foreign area, unaware of what happened during the blackout. He also knew that there was always light and sound, as weak as they might be, welcoming him back to consciousness.

Waking up to nothing but darkness and silence was new to him. If it was not for the perception of his body, he would believe he was still unconscious. At first he was only intrigued, then he became anxious and he finally was afraid that he was surrounded by an emptiness that would be too pleased to devour him. It had already taken his firebending.

He had thought that it came back at some point, but he was mistaken. The torch appeared out of nowhere and did not answer to his wishes. It only turned around him, as if the emptiness taunted him with the power it stole from him. But still, the moving and warm light made him feel less alone. That was why he became distressed when the torch suddenly vanished, leaving him to the darkness.

Zuko hoped it would come back.

----

The breakfast and lunch had been incredibly monotonous. Ty Lee was not used to being alone and disliked it? She had travelled with Mai and late Azula for quite a time, and she at least had the company of the menagerie back at the circus. Her friends were not the most talkative people she knew, Mai often offered less conversation than the animals, it was still someone to be with.

Although, there were some people during the meals, some of them still in the canteen where she stayed. She could have talked with some members of the Dai Li or one of those women who always kept smiling. But the few earthbenders she talked with seemed to know only the words 'yes', 'no' and 'maybe' and soon after she had started a discussion with 'Joo Dee', as she enthusiastically introduced herself, she found herself bored by her constantly happy attitude.

She did not feel like talking to anybody besides Mai, anyways.

And it seemed Agni was in a good mood, because she walked in the room at this very moment. Fatigue still apparent through her half closed eyes, Mai sat besides Ty Lee and sighed.

"Did you sleep well?" She asked.

"Yes." Her eyes glossed over the earthbenders at the other side of the long table. "But I shouldn't have slept. The sooner we go and catch the Blue Spirit, the better."

"I think you should eat now and sleep until tonight. You won't be able to fight him with nothing in the stomach and exhausted." She stood up. "He's more of a night creature anyways."

"You're up since this morning, right?" Mai enquired, earning a nod. "And you won't be exhausted tonight?"

"I'm used to long days. We work much in a circus." Ty Lee smirked. "But a governor's daughter doesn't know about long days, does she?" She teased, receiving an irritated glare.

"Shut up and bring me food." Mai growled.

A smirk appeared again on her lips. "Not until you promise to get enough sleep for our hunt." The blade specialist rolled her eyes.

"Whatever you say." Her stomach grumbled. "Food. _Now_."

Ty Lee bowed mockingly. "As you wish, milady." Taunting Mai was not the best thing to do, but at least it kept the Azula tragedy off her mind. Leaving a fuming Mai, she made her way to the kitchen to order the cooks a meal.

Unknown to them, the earthbenders seated at the same table had listened in. And they were glad that both nuisances were decided to leave the palace to hunt a shadow, as Long Feng predicted.

- 

**As this fanfiction revolves around surprises, plot twists and other cliffhangers, please do not spoil the events in your reviews.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Avatar: the last airbender belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko and Nickelodeon.**

-

"I can't believe we have to wear those horrors again..." Mai complained under her breath as she followed Ty Lee in a tavern of the Lower Ring. Night had just wrapped Ba Sing Se in its mysterious veil, yet the scent of alcohol already tainted the air inside the establishment. She rolled her eyes at the sight of men slumped in their chairs or sprawling on tables, already drunk.

"Look." Ty Lee said quietly as she faced Mai. "If we want to find the Blue Spirit, we must blend in." She turned around, eying the bartender. "Besides, who would refuse to help the Kyoshi warriors?"

"Whatever. I'll be glad when I'm free of this girly disguise and makeup."

"Good. Now shush or you'll blow our cover." Ty Lee instructed before heading towards the counter.

Mai trailed after her, briefly looking at the few conscious customers. Most of them wore the commonplace outfit of peasants of the Earth Kingdom, but two people caught her interest.

They were seated at a table near the entrance. The quiver and bow hung over the back of one of them instantly identified him as an archer. Save for a red cloth covering one of his shoulders and white linings, his clothes were of earthly tones as well as his hat, similar in shape to those of the Dai Li. She supposed he had hurt his arms as they were bandaged. His shorter companion was rocking on his chair while picking his nails with a knife. He had messy brown hair and two red lines were painted on both of his cheeks. His outfit was darker than the archer's one, excluding his leather breastplate.

Probably savages from the forest or some other forsaken place, she thought. Her train of thought was interrupted by Ty Lee's question to the bartender. She decided listening to the answer was more important than looking at two warrior wannabes."We need to see the Blue Spirit." she started softly. "Do you have any idea where we could find him?"

"And why do you need to see him?" He replied, more interested by the goblet he was cleaning than by the request. He did not even give her a glance.

"The safety of the Earth Kingdom is at stake." Ty Lee lied. "We think he might have valuable information against the Fire Nation."

The man finally looked at her. "Oh." He uttered. "Sorry, I had no idea I was speaking to the famous warriors of Kyoshi." He looked upwards, deep in thought. "There're rumours about soldiers of the Fire Nation who disappeared into a forest west to the city. Maybe the Blue Spirit was the cause." He eventually said, absentmindedly drying the goblet.

"Thank you." Ty Lee replied with a grin. "And goodbye."

"Farewell ladies." The bartender said as they turned to leave. "Hope you'll thwart whatever plan those cursed firebenders have for our city!"

Both girls repressed a grimace. "We'll do that." Ty Lee responded with a forced smile.

They then left the establishment, pleased to have a lead and for Mai's part, relieved to be rid of the stench of alcohol.

"I don't trust rumours." She stated. "We should ask other people. If there's really no proper trace of him, we can still set a trap as he hates the Fire Nation so much."

"Probably." Ty Lee acquiesced.

- 

Inside the tavern, the archer was still staring at the entrance after the departure of the fake Kyoshi warriors. His companion was looking over her nails, knife ready to brush out any dirt left.

"Those girls."

Smellerbee continued to focus on her nails and picked one of them. "What, the Kyoshi girls?"

He nodded and pointed at his eyes with his index and middle fingers . Smellerbee noticed this and gazed at him. "Their eyes? What's with their eyes." HHe then rapped the cloth over his shoulder. "They had red eyes? Yeah right, that doesn't exist."

Longshot glowered at her. "They were grey."

"So? The Avatar's eyes were grey too." Then, she stopped her knife above her nail. He had grey eyes because he was the last airbender. Only one people had grey eyes other than the Air Nomads. "You mean they're Fire Nation?" He nodded. "Fire Nation spies in Ba Sing Se. Never saw that coming." She glared at the entrance. A spiteful smile appeared on her lips as she got up. "Guess we'll have to take them out."

---- 

As saddened he was by his nephew's betrayal, although he preferred to refer to it as a mistake, Iroh wanted news of Zuko. Even if they came from Azula, the viper who disrupted his relationship with Zuko.

The door of the cell cracked. He had been brought his meal not long ago, so the visitor probably came with news.. He looked up as the door unlocked.

"Esteemed Dragon of the West." Long Feng announced as he walked in. "I bring you news of your little family."

Iroh raised an eyebrow. "Taking over Ba Sing Se takes time. I suppose that's why they didn't come themselves?"

Long Feng chuckled. "Not exactly." He crouched in front of him. "You'll be glad to learn that your niece died." Iroh gasped as his eyes widened. "And your dear nephew will now serve the Earth Kingdom as if it were his home nation."

"That's im-impossible!" Iroh stuttered.

"It is most possible. That's what I like about brainwashing."

Iroh let out a growl. "You little…" He tried to break free to attack and force the offender to free Zuko. Vainly.

Long Feng ignored the outburst. "Don't worry, I have plans for you too. I still remember when you broke into Ba Sing Se, General Iroh. This won't be left unpunished." He glanced at the firebender. "Yes, I know, you might consider your only son's death as terrible enough, but I don't."

The glare Iroh gave Long Feng could have melted metal.

"But you were a great opponent of the Earth Kingdom. Therefore, I'll allow you to choose who to join. Zuko in the chambers of Lake Laogai, or Azula in the Spirit World. I'll leave you some time to make your choice…" He smirked. "And regret attacking this city."

Long Feng then left the cell, leaving a cursing firebender behind him.

---- 

"It seems the first peasant was right. This forest is the only lead we have," Mai declared as Ty Lee and she came out of the seventeenth tavern they visited.

"I hope we'll get him soon." Ty Lee answered, waving the air in front of her nose. She had smelled enough alcohol for a lifetime.

"Let's go back to the palace to take supplies. We don't know how long our hunt will last."

"If it ends one day…" Ty Lee commented sadly.

Mai placed her hands on her friend's shoulders. "Ty Lee, we _will_ get him. You and I both want to avenge Azula, right?" She nodded. "I promise he won't escape us."

Ty Lee was not used to Mai showing so much emotion, but since Azula's death, Mai's façade seemed to slowly fall to pieces. "He won't escape us." She repeated.

They started their way back to the palace, oblivious to the two kids who had been furtively following them since the first tavern. Smellerbee glanced at the departing duo from the wall she was hiding behind.

"Yeah, they're Fire Nation." She said as she leaned against the wall, reproducing Longshot's position. "I think we'll get them a nice surprise in this forest…"

Longshot nodded.

----

The weak beating of her heart was all she could feel within her body. Her mind, usually so cunning, was cloudy and failed to understand why she was so feeble. The darkness slowly faded away as she struggled to open her eyes. She blinked a few times, trying to get used to the blinding light.

Then she heard a voice. Faint and remote, but a voice nonetheless, though she could not perceive the words. The voice spoke again, scarcely louder, and she dropped her head on the side in order to face the right direction.

"Are you fine?" She was able to understand some words as the shroud in her mind dwindled. But she was still confused and could not think of an answer. Coherent thought seemed to hide in some corner of her brain and she did not know when it would come out.

"Are you fine?" It repeated. She saw a long green blur surmounted by a smaller black blur. There seemed to have a face inside the latter. She finally found the strength to nod mechanically. "Good news. Do you want something to drink?" Again, she nodded. The blur disappeared.

_'Zuko?'_ The thought came out of nowhere. But the blur did not sound like Zuko. His hair was not that long and the voice was clearly feminine. She stopped musing when the blur came back and brought something to her lips. Without thinking, she drank the water offered to her.

"Feeling better?" She could see more clearly now. The girl seemed to have golden eyes, or maybe brown, she was still too dizzy to tell the difference. "You were really sick." The girl said. "Lee was really afraid for you, you know."

Azula could not wonder who Lee was as she drifted back to oblivion.

- 

**As this fanfiction revolves around surprises, plot twists and other cliffhangers, please do not spoil the events in your reviews.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Avatar: the last airbender belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko and Nickelodeon.**

-

"Where… Where am I?" Azula asked when she came back to her senses. She could feel her body now and moving was less difficult. She remembered last being in Ba Sing Se… And now she was lying on what she supposed to be a mattress, covered by a blanket.

"You're in my apartment." The voice she heard earlier said.

Her vision clearer than before, Azula looked around. It was still a little blurry, but she could see that the apartment was more of a tenement. She assumed she was in the Lower Ring.

"…Who are you?"

"I'm Jin, a friend of Lee," The girl replied. Her clothes, though nice-looking, designed her as a commoner. Most definitely Lower Ring.

But she still did not know who this Lee she kept mentioning was. "Lee? Who's Lee?"

"You don't remember your own brother?" Jin exclaimed, her face showing a mixture of concern and surprise. "This fever was more serious than I thought…"

Fever? Azula did not remember any fever. In fact, she recalled feeling better than usual before the enigmatic blackout she underwent. Though she did not remember what precisely happened before said blackout.

As for this Lee… Her brother? She had only one brother and he was bothersome enough for her not to wish another sibling. Unless Lee was the name Zuko had to take when he entered Ba Sing Se. Yes, it was plausible… 

Azula removed the blanket and tried to get up, but Jin stopped her. "You must rest!" She said before draping her again. "I'm surprised you already woke up twice after only a day, Lee told me this fever was really strong."

The princess considered going against Jin's advice but she decided against it. Even if her senses returned, she still felt incredibly weak and tired. And she had not rested properly since her father sent her to track Zuko down…

----

"Those monorails are fantastic!" Ty Lee squealed, hopping around inside the stone vehicle.

"Yes, we'll reach the west of Ba Sing Se in not time thanks to it." She stated. "And you should keep your energy instead of prancing like that. You'll end up destabilising the car."

As much as she disliked the city, Mai had to admit that they were very advanced. Earth Kingdom people had tamed their vast continent with verve. She hoped the Fire Nation would keep enough earthbenders to take care of transport logistics once the war was won. She doubted the Dai Li would be numerous enough and she doubted even more their good will to be relegated to monorails.

"Aw… Why do you keep spoiling my fun?"

She would never divulge it, but Mai secretly envied the ease Ty Lee had in showing her emotions. "Why do you keep being so bubbly?"

"Why do you keep being so dull?" Ty Lee retorted.

"You get excited over naught."

"You're hopelessly boring."

The argument went on for a long time, Ty Lee visibly enjoying it and as did Mai, though she did not show it. Both were oblivious to the peaceful sight of Ba Sin Se by night and the occasional chuckle from one conductor, amused by the dispute he could hear from inside the car. 

"Monkey girl!"

"Marble stat-"

"We will soon arrive at the western gate of Ba Sing Se." They heard as the two earthbenders prepared to stop the stone car. "Please get ready to exit the monorail."

As the vehicle started its braking, they moved towards the nearest exit. Mai waited for the final arrest and Ty Lee adjusted her garb. When the car stopped to move, Mai opened the paper door and stepped out, shortly followed by Ty Lee.

"What is the world coming to if even the warriors of Kyoshi bicker?" One of the earthbenders said once the girls left the monorail.

"Yeah. There's something rotten in this kingdom." His associate joked.

Neither of them noticed two Freedom Fighters hopping down from the roof of the monorail and sneak after Ty Lee and Mai. 

----

The light had come back, and not alone. It had brought food and water. Granted, barely enough to fill the hunger and thirst that had been building up inside him since he had woken up in this strange place, but it was still something. Hopefully enough for him to not fall unconscious again, he did not want to even think what could happen to him within this cold darkness.

But even after his meal, thinking was difficult. He was still tired and the light had come with voices. Insidious voices whispering deceitful words to him. But for a reason as obscure as his surrounding, he still listened attentively to the voices.

And then, the light vanished again. But the voices stayed, as if encouraged by the triumphant oblivion around him.

----

"You've been keeping me confined to bed for hours now…" Azula weakly complained. "Let me get up…" She would have cursed both fate and Jin for being in such a humiliating position, but speaking alone summoned all her strength and attention.

"Come on, talking tires you." Jin sighed. "You're like Lee, hard to convince."

She was sure that Lee was indeed Zuko now. Though she had yet to understand why the girl seemed so nostalgic each time she spoke of him. Perhaps she had been more than a friend to him.

She suppressed a feeble sneer. Maybe she did have a fever messing up her head. Zuko never had any luck or skill in his whole life, much less when confronting the opposite sex…

"And when will 'Lee' come to see his dear sister?" She sweetly asked.

"I don't know…" Jin admitted. "He told me he had no idea when he would return." She looked down. "Or _if_ he would return…" She whispered to herself.

Azula rolled over on the mattress, trying to make her tired mind work well enough to understand what was going on. He memory was slowly coming back to her. She had taken over Ba Sing Se and disposed of these irksome Earth King and Council of Five, though Mai told her the former escaped as well as the entire team of the Avatar.

She blinked. Mai. Where was she and Ty Lee? Why would she be left alone in some tenement of the Lower Ring? She remembered them, as well as Zuko, being with her in the palace with noblemen and the Dai Li. The corrupted Dai Li who switched side so quickly and betrayed their leader for years, Long Feng, in a split second.

Wait.

_Long Feng_. The last thing she recalled was a dinner. Drinking a cup of water was the last thing she remembered before waking up here. No, not exactly she realized, she remembered a sudden pain… Could it be that Long Feng poisoned her for stealing away his power?

And it seemed that Zuko was the one who saved her. How he could save her from poison, she did not know. But maybe that her brother was not as worthless as she thought… 

----

They had come back. The warm, nice light and these voices. The torch had vanished yet again, abandoning him to the voices and darkness. They tormented him for what seemed an eternity before finally leaving. But he knew that, sadly, they come back.

Once he was alone, shreds of memory came. He saw three girls, one red-clad, another wearing pink clothes and the last bearing green colours. He felt a strange connection with that last girl.

Another strange thought came. He saw himself diluting something, poison according to his memory, with water and praying Agni that the dilution would weaken the poison enough to be less deadly. And he saw the green-clad teenager again.

However, he did not remember who she was. Or who this Agni he prayed could be.

Zuko's train of thought was interrupted as the light came back.

---- 

Ty Lee and Mai were now in sight of border of the woods they were looking for. They had spent all the day walking to their destination and the dusk gave the forest an eerie look, but they were firmly decided to continue their quest for the Blue Spirit.

"So… What do we do now?" Ty Lee asked, looking at the track road piercing through the dense forest.

"This innkeeper said something about a lost patrol." Mai replied. "We should start searching the site of the battle. With any luck, we'll find the Blue Spirit gallivanting nearby."

"And then we'll learn if he did kill Azula…" Ty Lee murmured.

Mai looked at her. "He'll pay."

"But what if he didn't kill her?" Mai raised an eyebrow at her. "For all we know, the real murderer is in Ba Sing Se…"

"Then we'll avenge some of our soldiers instead of Azula." She narrowed her eyes. "Either way, we'll be the last people he'll ever meet." She growled.

"Shh! He might be listening to us!"

"I. Don't. Care." She snarled. "I'll get him."

Mai then walked into the woods, shortly followed by a Ty Lee, a little uneasy by her friend's determination. Although taught to be a fighter, or even a killer, at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, she still found brutal fighting objectionable.

But she knew she would make an exception for whoever killed Azula.

Too busy examining the ground around the path, they were oblivious to the two kids watching them from the branches above. Smellerbee was looking at them with a mixture of contempt and abhorrence while Longshot, firmly holding his bow with two arrows positioned around his index finger, was patiently waiting for them to crowd together.

"So." She whispered as Ty Lee approached Mai to help her. "Do you plan to leave me some fun?"

Longhot aimed his bow so the two arrows were directed at both girls' throats. "No."

- 

**As this fanfiction revolves around surprises, plot twists and other cliffhangers, please do not spoil the events in your reviews.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Avatar: the last airbender belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko and Nickelodeon.**

- 

The next morning, the main noblemen and councillors of the court were summoned once again. Though the ones imprisoned on the orders of Azula had been freed, they were all uneasy by the menacing presence of the Dai Li guarding the room. Long Feng stood in front of the throne.

"As you most certainly remember, Ba Sing Se fell to he heirs of the Fire Nation." He announced as he walked by the first line of nobles. They nodded and mumbled in agreement. "The heiress died, as you all witnessed three evenings ago. You will be pleased to learn that her three companions have been neutralized as well."

"Maybe, maybe." A lady interrupted. "But the Earth Kingdom is still in a critical situation. The Dai Li is rotten to the core. You're in the best position to know..." She said, not hiding her contempt of Long Feng. She was sure he had planned for them to be rid of after the gathering.

"Actually, the Dai Li acted on my direct orders." Long Feng pretended as he walked to the woman and faced her. "They lured the princess in a false sense of security, which later led them to discover her brother." He pivoted to look at the throne. "It is a major step in winning the war. The Fire Nation royalty has no more heirs."

"And so does our kingdom." She rebutted.

Long Feng frowned. That laughable Earth King had slipped his mind. "True, Azula did dispose of our dear ruler before we could intervene." He replied, turning back to face his audience but not bothering to give a glance to the female aristocrat. "But you cannot but know that he never was of much use or efficacy. Ba Sing Se never needed him to be flourishing and the Council of Five is to thank for the defence against the Fire Nation, not the Earth King."

"You dare to call our ruler useless!"

Long Feng sighed in irritation. He had the feeling a new Joo Dee would soon be introduced into the palace. "Yes, I do. Is there anyone caring to prove me otherwise?" Most of the noblemen coughed or shook their heads. Even without the threat of the nearby Dai Li, they had to admit that Long Feng administered the impenetrable city excellently and preserved their privileges as well. "I thought so."

He walked away from the nobles. "As the Grand Secretary and tutor of the disappeared Earth King, I will rule from now on." Before anyone could object, he whirled around and narrowed his eyes at his audience. "This meeting is finished. I must discuss the strategic values of the Fire Nation heirs' deaths with the Council of Five, freed on my orders, shortly. You are dismissed."

As the noblemen quitted the room, the few disputants forced out by the Dai Li, an agent came to Long Feng. He bowed. "Master?"

"Yes?" Long Feng inquired, looking at the leaving nobles.

"Do you remember the two Freedom Fighters who escaped Lake Laogai?"

Long Feng stroked his chin. "Those whose leader I killed? Yes, I remember them." He turned his head to look at his agent, still bowing. "What of them?"

"As you ordered, we followed Azula's escort and we discovered those Freedom Fighters were on their trail too." He straightened his back." The archer took care of them in a forest to the west.

Long Feng smiled. "I presume you offered them a trip back to Lake Laogai to thank them for their help?" The Dai Li gave a sly smile. "Perfect."

----

"Can I get up now?"

The edge in Azula's voice would have scared Jin if she did not know she was Lee's sister. He was very sweet and so was his uncle, why should it be different for his other relatives? "Well, if you're well enough to keep complaining, I suppose you can." She called from the adjoining room she cleaning, a teasing tone evident in her voice.

Azula wanted to melt this smile off her face, but she could not even light a spark. The poison was either really strong or specific to firebenders, maybe both. "Whatever." She spat as she stood up with difficulty. She barely made a few steps before collapsing loudly on the floor. Jin heard the racket and ran to her, helping her up as Azula mumbled curses.

"Or maybe you can't..." Jin offered a sad smile as she led her back to the mattress. Azula muttered a quarter-hearted thanks as she laid down. "You should continue to rest." She then left the room to continue brushing.

Azula covered herself with the bed sheet, frowning. This situation was getting more and more humiliating and did not progress. Save for the peasant, who watchfully took care of her she recognized, she was pretty much alone. She did not know where Mai, Ty Lee or Zuko could possibly be. Azula almost missed them, almost. But the future ruler of the Fire Nation was not supposed to grieve over anything.

She rolled over, a new thought occurring to her. She hoped her father would never know of this shameful situation...

Jin inattentively swept the floor. Lee's sister -she realized it was the only thing she knew about her, as she forgot to ask for her name- just confirmed her doubts with her earlier fit of temper when she subsided. She had assumed, she had hoped that Lee, Mushi and her golden eyes were explained by some marriages between people of the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation, but the girl's mention of Agni in her curses marked her out as an actual native of the Fire Nation.

She sighed. Even if they technically were enemies, Lee and Mushi were very nice and sweet. The girl's annoyance probably came from her fever. Maybe she could also tell her what happened to them and why they still did not return.

----

Zuko woke up and was not surprised anymore by the darkness and the silence surrounding him. He had no idea of the time he spent in that oblivion, but he supposed it had been enough to forget about light and noise if it was not for the torch and voices regularly coming to him.

He remembered disagreeing with the voices at first, trying his hardest to tune out their arguments. He failed to comprehend why he did so now. Refusing their advice had brought him nothing whereas he had been extracted of the darkness little time after he agreed with the voices. He did not even need to declare his agreement, they already knew he would accept their arguments. The voices knew everything.

As he was pulled out of his cell, he realized that he had been in the dark not only literally. It was as if a veil of disorder and mistakes vanished away when he understood the voices had been right since the very beginning.

"Who are you?" A man wearing a dark robe and a wide brimmed hat asked. Zuko realized he was the owner of one of the voices.

"Lee of Ba Sing Se."

"Who do you serve?"

"Long Feng."

The man lifted his hat. "Why?

"Because Long Feng keeps our city in a state of peace." He answered. The voices had mentioned Long Feng. Zuko felt he was the nicest person in the world.

"And how will you serve him?" The agent's stare intensified.

"By tracking down those disrupting peace and eliminating them." Zuko swiftly replied. He then pointed at something behind the Dai Li. "Like them."

The Dai Li agent looked around to discover the two Freedom Fighters his colleagues had captured earlier on. "Good answers." He smirked.

----

Long Feng and the Council of Five were debating in the war room, green flames creating enough light for them to see each other and the maps on the stone table. A myriad of Dai Li guarded the room and reminded the five generals who held the real power in the palace.

"The Fire Nation has lost its only heirs and this Water Tribe boy mentioned an eclipse." Long Feng stated, looking alternatively at all the generals. "The first might cause a civil war to occur when succession comes, but the latter could fasten their demise."

"I'm not sure." General Sung cut in. "They might as well a punitive expedition to avenge them. They surprised us with their drill, who knows what other monstrosity they hide on their islands."

Long Feng rolled his eyes. Sung could have been a good diplomat, talking his way out of trouble, but he was a poor commanding officer. "The drill was most likely their very secret weapon. Besides, this is the second major defeat of the Fire Nation. Their navy has been reduced to smithereens at the North Pole and all the investments they put in their war machine is lost."

The oldest general raised his hand. "But they did take over Omashu."

"Bumi was nothing but a senile fool." Long Feng always considered the royalty of Ba Sing Se and Omashu to be deadweight. "And the resistance in this region is rampant."

"With their Navy so diminished, the invasion suggested by the Avatar could actually succeed." General How reluctantly agreed, he never liked having Long Feng as a leader. "They may not know about the Day of the Black Sun, and even if they did, they surely don't expect us to know about it." He pointed at the Fire Nation on the maps. "But we'll need a great army to attack their islands. We might even have no more troops to send against the Fire Nation if they conquered more of the western regions."

The old general stoked his grey beard. "It's a gamble. It could either be our final victory or our worst defeat."

Long Feng noticed one of his agents step out of the shadows. "I trust you to find the best strategy. Now, if you may excuse me for an instant, something seems to have occurred." He bowed to the generals, who bowed back, and walked out of the room. The earthbender promptly followed him.

"What's the matter?"

"The Fire Prince has finished his vacation in Lake Laogai." He answered, bowing. "But I was told he, though now loyal to our cause, still showed some initiative."

"It's a minor nuisance." Long Feng replied, raising his eyebrows at the agent. "It might even make him more believable." He turned over, ready to come back to the Council of Five. "Carry on with the plan." He smirked. "I think it's time for a little family reunion..."

The Dai Li bowed lower. "Master."

-

**As this fanfiction revolves around surprises, plot twists and other cliffhangers, please do not spoil the events in your reviews. Also, the generals Sung and How belong to the Council of Five. The first appeared in "The Drill" and the latter in "The Earth King". For further information on these chracters, visit the Avatar section of **


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